Which Cross?
This earthly life is not without a cross... each person is called to carry his/her own cross..... but which cross are you carrying? your own or that of others?....... what can be the reason(s) that  can make us unknowingly carry the cross of others...... If the other person is not 'responsible' for his/her mistakes in life, if they are not accountable for their shortcomings  then it's someone else fault..... and that someone else can be you. You have heard  the story of the man who complained to God about how heavy his cross is until God agreed that he can change it. So the man went into the room where there were various crosses in height, weight and size. Having looked at all, he ended up taking back his own which he complained about. Therefore there must more than carrying your own cross. How big is the cross that you carry and under which circumstances would you ask for a different cross? At the end of the day each person has to carry his /her cross; the one who called us to take up the cross and follow Him, if we want to be his disciples also invites us to come to him if we are heavily burdened and He will give us rest. He invites us to learn from Him, for His yoke is easy and burden light. We need to remember this invitation when the burden becomes too heavy.... Anxieties, fears and guilty feelings of  mistakes from the past can be some of the underlying reasons for trying to carry the cross of our loved ones in addition to our own and that can make your own cross heavy. The Lord Jesus is the only person who carried the heaviest Cross ever, our individual ones are just a splinter of his. Therefore we can not carry the cross of the other.... each is called to carry his/her cross .......we can support each other in prayer for strength to be able to persevere through the ups/downs till the end.....Uniting your tiny cross to that of Jesus is a way of finding meaning, which can make your burden sweet..

Mistakes of God?
Does God makes mistakes?.........when terrible things happen to good people?..... when innocent babies are born with incurable disease?...... when a natural disaster struck suddenly?........a loved one loosing the battle to cancer? ......when overwhelmed with the un-explainable, what crosses your mind? Where is God you may ask or blame...... But does God makes mistakes?  In Scripture, (Lk. 6:12ff) we read that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer and then chose his closest friends or his Apostles. The list was not impressive by human standards.... not the highly educated, sinners, doubters, unstable, irrational, etc. etc. Did Jesus made a mistake in praying and choosing Judas Iscariot as one of his closest friends? God loves all and wishes all to be saved. He chooses both good and bad and offers them equal chance to make a free choice. Nathaniel was without any guile but he also has to accept Jesus' invitation just like unstable Peter. If God makes mistakes, then we should not be alive today, but we are because of His unending love allowing the good and bad to live so that in the end all might be saved. Take a look back at your life.....are you surprised that God did not strike you down in anger?... is that a mistake? No that is how much God loves the sinner and not the sin......Everyday is an opportunity to be reconciled,...... total conversion ......before it's too late. Our Lord Jesus took a risk when he taught us to call God: 'Our Father', for doing so he automatically made us heirs to the kingdom of God. We became adopted children and that is not a mistake! See how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!......... ( 1 Jn 3: 1-3) is that a mistake? God chooses the weak to shame the strong and the poor to shame the rich...... and that is no mistake for it's not by might and it's not by power but by the Spirit. Therefore let the weak say:  I'm strong, let the poor say I'm rich because of what the Lord has done...... sing praise.......for God does not make mistakes. If God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.........the cruel death of Jesus on the cross was not a mistake. Can anything then separate us from the love of Christ? trouble or hardship or death of  a loved one? illness of a loved one? persecution or famine or danger or sword............?  No!..... no,  in all these things and under any circumstance, we are and can be more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Let us be convinced like Paul, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will (and or can) separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! The unconditional love of God is not a mistake!

The Love Prayer
How do you know you are loved unless the lover cease not to remind the beloved as often as it takes.Even if repeated ten thousand times, each one is different, each time it means something different. There is no repetition in " I love you ", because they are spoken in a new moment of time, another point in space, for the words do not mean the same as they did at another time or in another space. Love is never monotonous  in the uniformity of its expression
This is what we do when we say the Rosary. We are saying to God, to the Trinity. to the Incarnate Saviour and to the Blessed Mother Mary: " I love you. I love you. I love you. " Each time it means something different because at each decade, our mind is moving to a new demonstration of our Saviour's love: for example, from the mystery of his love which willed to become one of us in the Incarnation, to the other mystery of love when he suffered for us.. and to the other mystery of where he intercedes for us before the heavenly Father.
The Rosary is mistakenly regarded as a passive form of prayer since we are able to speak to people while our minds are thinking of something else. But in the Rosary, we not only say the prayers, we think them: Nazareth where it all started in the Annunciation...to the hill country of Judea in the Visitation... to Bethlehem ...Galilee... Jerusalem. Golgotha,.... Calvary.... Mount Olives..... heaven. All these move before our mind's eye as we pray. The Rosary invites our fingers, our lips, and our heart in one vast symphony of prayer and for that reason it is the greatest prayer ever composed. it's God's Love Song given to us and is the best therapy for distraught, unhappy, fearful and frustrated souls.
The month of October is dedicated to praying the Rosary, it's a month of special grace.... each Hail Mary is like a Rose being offered  to the Blessed Mother. Therefore let's offer Her a garland of Roses as we lovingly pray:
 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; 
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen!

The God of the Impossible
What may seem impossible in your eyes right now will be restored for nothing is impossible to God . Recall the most impossible situation(s) in your life at the moment: terminal illness of loved ones....... family breakdown...... threatening ailments of old age........ etc, etc? what man considers impossible, the Lord sees and uses as opportunities to manifest his almighty power.... only trust and wait ...
Our God will do more than we can ever dare to ask or imagine. He does the impossible as our hope in Him will not leave us disappointed. The situation you are going through can get better or bitter. One way that you can get better rather than bitter is to develop a thankful heart. .... learning to be grateful to the Lord in all things...... counting your blessings along the way will surprised you what the Lord has done.
' O thou who has given me so much, I pray that you give me yet one more thing - a grateful heart and faith to believe that You are the God of the Impossible' Amen!

The story behind the faces...
Look around you look at the faces that you see..... the smiles..... the lines, the  pain..... each carries a story that goes beyond time and place..... Take the little chubby lad at the playground, who never joins the others to play..... what could be on the mind of such a young child?........the mother who all of a sudden begins to cry...makes you to wonder if you had said anything wrong to trigger a hidden pain....
We all carry stories behind the smiles....... the child who does not know his father because he disappeared before he was born......... the child who finds it hard to understand why the father chose for his job above the family....... or the father who spends more time out with 'friends' than with the family........ or the mother who is stuck with guilt from the past........the wife married yet not loved...... the un/documented migrant who is lost in the system......... the young man with lost dreams.......the wandering homeless .... the caregiver hanging on the thin thread of hope.......lonely is the one who sees.......those who carry the pain for the injustice around them.......the chase for fame that leaves one empty and restless.........the once active mind now imprisoned in a paralyzed body. The list is unending as you take a peep behind the faces around you. What is the story behind your face?.....rejection..... betrayal........ disgrace... . despair ..... fear .?

Look at the gentle face of Jesus......... can you read the story behind his face? ......look at his piercing eyes inviting you to sit at his feet and learn from him ...... he was also despised, .......rejected,........ betrayed,.. mocked ...denied........ the lover yet unloved........ the beggar knocking at hearts........the prisoner of love waiting for your visit........ the provider yet denied.......the creator who allowed to be mistreated by his creation .......see him hanging on the Cross........hear his cry for thirst for your soul....... so that his death will not be in vain........see his face disfigured by pain.........a man of sorrows......upon him was the chastisement that made us whole ...... by his stripes we are healed! No one suffers alone even if you feel alone right now. now....no story is new....... they are only understood in the light of His story....... we may be granted glimpses but full understanding is to be totally immersed in Him then it will no longer be you who lives but Christ in and through you; for you can do all things because of Him who strengthens you.
What is there that Jesus could have done that He did not do? ..... how much more pain must He have borne  for you to understand His love for you? There is no pain on earth that He has not felt ...... If you hang onto Him and not give up,  then you will find meaning in your story in the light of His...... we are all bleeding from infested wounds..... and He the Wounded Healer desires to make us whole in body, mind and soul.......

What makes today special?
Today is not just another day in your life, it is a unique day, the only day you have that has been given to you as a gift. It is the one day that is  present - a gift - today. So how do I fully use this day? Thanking God for eyes to see the world around and within.. appreciate the minute things that are usually taken for granted..... the sky.. the clouds...... the birds...... flowers........ trees......the sun...... feel the wind... the cool or hot breeze on your face...the smell of rain and the rain drops.....the weather is not only good or bad..or nice but  a reflection of all that is happening and affecting your moods and feelings at the soul level. Lift up your eyes and just look at the clouds..... the formation and movement of the clouds ....and from your last trip recall your thoughts as you gazed through the window as the plane flew above the clouds ......
What about the people you meet today?...... look at their faces.... the smile, the joy, the pain......the silence... do you really see through them to identify with their feelings?...... they are no strangers but only friends that you have not met....
Whatever you are able to achieve today, however little or great is a gift..... so ask yourself , why have I been given this day and for what purpose......what did you do to earn this precious gift.......? If  gifts are not earned otherwise they would not be gifts then they become blessings. What should be the response to a blessing?..... thankfulness leading to grateful hearts....If you can recognize that every thing about today is a blessing then you will fully appreciate today. Do not take the many blessings today for granted.... depending on where you live.....a cold or hot shower for example........ transportation system that works..... bringing fresh produce from distant countries to your local market at prices that make you wonder how much did the farmer actually earned for his toil............imagine the chain of workers that made this possible.........
Is your heart bursting with: 'Thank you Lord'? ... Let the gratefulness in your heart overflow to blessings to the people you meet and touch today. ...Freely you receive... freely you give.... If you accept today not only as a gift but as the first or the last day of your life..... then you will have spent this special day very well. .....The more you are given the more will be required of you.....

How much time is remaining? ....
What will you do differently if you know that you have began the count down? In fact each new day brings us closer to the big day that we will meet the Lord. "......I go to prepare a place for you and when I finished I will come and take you so that where I am you may also be,,,,, (Jh. 14::2-3)  This is a promise and He who has promised is faithful.

We are all workers in the Lord's vineyard. ( Mat 20:1-16) some has worked for the whole day but many of us have only worked for few hours, We may have wasted greater part of life doing our own thing until by His mercy,  accepted/responded to his call. The Lord is generous so even the latecomers will also receive the same  just wage, like those who have toiled the whole day, their entire life. God is merciful in opening the doors of his kingdom to all who will enter, both those who have laboured a life-time for him and those of us who have just come at the last hour. While the reward is the same the motive for one's labour can make a difference. Do you work only for the reward or you work for the joy and the opportunity to work and serve others?.....performing your task with cheerfulness and diligence for the sake of the Lord?......

Even though it might have taken you so long to begin purposeful living,  the Lord in his goodness will repay for the years which the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25), that is those wasted years of life.  The Lord in his mercy has saved the 'Best' for the last as in Cana; ( Jh 2:10) therefore we need only to leave all behind, pushing on ahead to what is yet to come. The Lord died to atone for our past so  we need to move on to find our purpose in life, thanking Him for the privilege of living for Him in the present -  today. Therefore if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts......if today is the last day what will be the new approach?  ..remember the best is yet to come as eyes have not sees and ears have not heard what the Lord has in store for those he has called.

We need to recognize the urgency of the hour,  to start immediately as so much time has been wasted  on frivolous things. Therefore for the remaining of this hour,.... this day......, this week........, this month....., this year........ - the rest of my life......, try to serve the Lord with all my heart and my strength and my soul. It's possible not by own might but in close walk with Him for He gives the necessary grace for the task.